Before they met him
by LovingPillow
Summary: Hermione had met Harry before; she even went to the same school as him. Of course, he never knew her name but she knew his.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione read her book as she ignored her classmates and their idiocy. She never understood why they avoided her but she understood that she was unlikable according to their distaste.

"Pair up everyone, we'll be doing a new activity." Her teacher announced and Hermione slowly set down her book; knowing that she'd be left alone if that was allowed. "Who doesn't have a partner? Raise up your hand." Hermione raised her hand and she eyed the classroom where only one other hand was raised. "Harry, you'll be partners with her." She heard her teacher tell the boy.

Hermione held a hand out to the boy named Harry. "My name is-" She didn't get to finish when their teacher told them to settle down and be quiet. They were starting the activity. "My name is Harry...Harry Potter." The boy whispered to her while they listened to the instructions. After the instructions, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand as they rushed out of the classroom with everyone else. The entire class was playing a scavenger hunt and they had to solve all the clues to get to their final destination. Since the teacher had given them their first clue; something pink and flowery, all they had to do was solve it. Harry first thought of the girls restroom since he didn't know what it was actually like. He explained to Hermione that he grew up hearing that the standard colour for girls is pink and that all girls are like flowers waiting to bud.

"Unreachable but could be found." Hermione read after finding the note out of the million repeated notes. She looked up and thought over the clue, "The rooftop!" She exclaimed and grabbed onto Harry's hand as she lead him onto the roof of their school building. She eyed the slips of paper fluttering in the wind and she asked Harry to give her a boost. Once she got the paper, Harry gently let her down from his shoulders. Since he could barely lift a pot of dirt, he was surprised to know that he could lift her up as she weighed absolutely nothing.

"3-Dimensional and enjoyable." Harry read and he scratched his cheek as he walked down the stairs with Hermione. "If it's enjoyable, I would say it's the library but then again, that's just my opinion. So it should be the playground. Come on Harry, let's go!" Hermione said as she ran ahead, excited to find the next clue. Harry called after her (but he still didn't know her name) as he ran after her. When the two reached the playground, Hermione could see the slips of paper tied everywhere. She quickly grabbed one and handed it to Harry.

"It keeps the doctor away." Harry read off and they both smiled at this. "Apples keep the doctor away, but where do we find the apples?" Hermione questioned and this time it was Harry who grabbed onto her hand as he led them to their destination. "The office keeps snacks for people who forget to bring their lunch." Harry explained after grabbing the note and bidding bye to the secretaries who were eyeing them in amusement.

"The Queen awaits here." Hermione read and both were stumped. It was physically impossible to travel to England and meet the Queen since their scavenger hunt was on school property. "Unless...the Queen refers to our teacher!" Hermione said after thinking over school property. Harry nodded and they both ran to their classroom. Their teacher smiled brightly and she gave them their prizes for finishing first; it was a camera (that was magical, but they didn't need to know that) and two friendship bracelets with their initials carved onto it.

Harry stared in awe as the teacher gladly tied it against his wrist. Hermione thanked her for the bracelet and she had Harry tie it for her. "Don't ever take them off, it's a sign of true friendship." Their teacher warned with a soft smile. Hermione then decided to test out her new camera as she asked their teacher to take a picture of the three. Harry was squished between the two as the camera counted down while they posed. He was genuinely surprised when Hermione held his hand with their fingers clasped. He smiled brightly just as the camera took their picture.

_They'll both grow up as fine wizards and witches._ The teacher thought as she took another picture of the two without them noticing. She looked through the film and smiled before handing it back to Hermione. Harry insisted that he should also have a picture on his camera with the three of them. Once done, Harry smiled and Hermione smiled and their teacher smiled.

All was good.

The scavenger hunt ended when everyone returned before the bell rang. Most of them didn't finish in time so they got lollipops as their reward.

Hermione bid bye to Harry when her parents came to pick her up, but then she remembered that she never told him her name. "I'll just tell him tomorrow." Hermione shrugged but then her parents told her that they'd be moving towns so she would be moving schools. _What? But, I finally made a friend!_ Hermione wanted to shout but she stayed silent as she watched her friend and school fade away.

Hermione tightly grasped onto her camera and friendship bracelet; she was never going to lose them.

Never.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking forward, Hermione had to keep herself in check, as in toning down her exuberant excitement. After all, she finally found Harry, she finally found her Harry from elementary. And he was still the same as ever, except for the fact that he'd taken off his bracelet. She couldn't help but wonder why he had taken it off when their teacher had told them never to take it off, no matter what. Sighing, Hermione watched the world blur into black-and-whites. She knew now that she was being evaluated by the hat, to see which house suited her best.

_What a splendid young mind you have here, Miss Granger. You fit best in Ravenclaw. But I can see that you love to take charge, and that quality works well in Gryffindor. Which to choose, which to choose…_ A voice hummed in her ear, though it echoed all throughout her mind.

**Which house do you suppose Harry will be in?** Hermione asked, choosing the first question that popped above surface.

_Harry? I don't know any Harry's aside from the ones already sorted centuries beforehand. Young lady, you must specify. What is his, and I do hope I assumed correctly here, surname?_ The hat questioned.

**Potter, Harry Potter.** Hermione immediately replied.

_Potter? Ah yes, generations of Slytherins and Gryffindors. I cannot predict which house young Potter will be sorted into until I read his mind, but out of the two that I listed for you, House Gryffindor is a common entity._ The hat spoke, and opened its mouth to finalize the answer. "_Gryffindor!_" He called out.

Applauds were heard when Hermione handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall, rushing off to sit at the house of red and gold.

When it was Harry's turn to be sorted, Hermione held her breath as she and the rest of the hall waited in anticipation. She hoped that Harry would be in Gryffindor, instead of Slytherin. He could be in Hufflepuff though, or Ravenclaw if he kept up his studies, but out of the two houses the hat named for his family, she hoped he ended up being sorted into Gryffindor. Seeing the hat open its stitches, she leaned forward to hear. "_Gryffindor!_" The hat bellowed aloud, and cheers rang from the table she sat at. Hermione herself was happy as she watched Harry make his way over, sitting opposite of her. He didn't seem to recognize her though, and for that, she felt a little bit disappointed.

Throughout breakfast, Hermione tried molding herself into the table. The longer she watched (_observe_, mind you) Harry, the more she was convinced that he didn't remember her. She had lost her first friend, and she felt terrible about the loss. Furrowing her brows, she picked at her peas. Giving up on trying to stab them, she read through the schedule for first year Gryffindors. Memorizing the classes, she busied herself with reading up on the history of Hogwarts. She had bought it in hopes that she would be prepared for school, and every little detail was memorized by her brilliant mind. When breakfast ended, she followed along her classmates up to their tower. Her book clung to her small frame as she paid her full attention to the prefects.

"I can't believe she's in Gryffindor. Ravenclaw would have loved her." One of the boys, with red hair she noted from the corner of her eye, whispered to Harry. Hermione felt her eyebrows furrow as she followed after the red-haired prefect. She would add him to her banned friend list, as many other names were listed with faces next to them.

"The boys cannot go up the girls' staircase, so don't even try it." Percy, the prefect had introduced himself while telling them the Gryffindor tower's password, announced. Hermione wondered whether the girls could go up the boys' staircase, as he only mentioned the boys not being able to go up the girls' staircase. She would bide her time to see if any other girl tried it, before her unspoken wonder could be solved.

They were then dismissed to tour the castle, and Hermione immediately left to find her classes, not wanting to get lost on the second day of school. It would've been the first day of school, but they were starting classes the next day, so she had to change her words around. Pulling out her journal, she spread it open on her palm and noted down the route she got to her first period class, then to her second, then to her third and fourth. She had to rely on some help from older Gryffindors, and they were really helpful, but she managed to find most of her classes by herself. They were mostly on the same floors.

"Is this the library?" She asked herself quietly, exhaling in awe as she looked at all the stacks of books and bookshelves. "The wonder…" She whispered, clutching her journal close to her stomach. Mentally squealing in joy, as she didn't want to risk being kicked out (and on the first day of school, oh _the horror_), she quickly walked over to the history section. She wasn't tall enough to actually grab the books by standing, so she relied on the ladder, manually pushing it so that she could grab the books that interested her. She only took two, as that was the max number of books she could take out in her hometown's library, and she didn't know how many she could take out at a time. When she stood on the tip of her toes, and gently placed the books on the counter, her eyes took in the sight of the librarian (Ms. Pince, she read).

"Two weeks." The librarian informed Hermione, as she watched the first year grab the books in visible delight. She was pleased that the girl handled the books with more care than her colleagues, and felt her cold exterior rinse away to smile at the young child. When the child looked up to thank her, she watched the girl leave with a bounce in her step. Perhaps, in the future she wouldn't mind giving her spot up for the girl. She certainly seemed to enjoy books and their knowledge.

Hermione hugged the books as she continued touring the school. She still had many hours before she needed to return to the Gryffindor tower, and she planned on spending the remaining time searching for a place to read. It was kind of odd not bumping into others in her year, so she supposed they had all chosen to unpack their things first. Her trunk was probably on her assigned bed, and since she bought her trunk with safety charms (something about only her and her parents being able to open it), she needn't worry about her things being trifled with.

Looking around, she noted that the seventh floor was devoid of people, unless you count the moving portraits (which didn't shock her as much, because she replaced the moving pictures with framed videos, only, the people inside them could move into other framed videos). Sitting down, she set one book down on her satchel and opened the other book to begin reading. She enjoyed the silence as she read on, memorizing the words before her very eyes. Minutes passed into hours as Hermione lost track of time, delving into the history of magic.

When her watch's alarm broke through the silence, she imprinted the page she was on in her mind before closing the book. Then, she put both books inside her satchel before she headed for the staircases. Having been told that dinner was at 8, she had set an hour early alarm for herself so that she would arrive in time before all the seats were taken. Blending into the crowd of students, she headed for the Great Hall.

The seats were mostly full of the older students, so Hermione chose to sit at the end of the table, where it was void of people. She wasn't exactly shy of strangers, but she didn't really trust them since she didn't know who they were.

"Look Harry, she's sitting all by herself." The boy she had banned from her friend list mock whispered when they sat close to the twin red-heads. His voice rang in her sensitive ears but she acted as though she didn't hear him, since the average person couldn't hear that far. Grabbing a spoonful of mashed potatoes, she opened her journal and jotted down faster routes to her classes. Since the halls would be full of students, she could use the passages she read about in _The Architectural History of Hogwarts_ and get to class with minutes to spare. So engrossed in the maps she was drawing up, and the dotted lines that indicated her routes, she didn't notice the twin red-heads taking their seats to her left and her right. Only when she reached out to grab her spoon to eat her potatoes did her eyes furrow in confusion at the food she _definitely_ didn't put on the plate. Putting the spoon back down and shaking her head, she returned to drawing (rather, it was more like refining) her map.

George and Fred both frowned as the girl their brother disliked shrugged her food away. She hadn't taken a bite since she first sat down, and as Gryffindors, they were expected to watch out for the younger ones. Sharing a look, they leaned over to see what she was so engrossed in drawing.

Hermione paused her drawings when the light that allowed her to see the lines clearly disappeared, so she lifted her head up to identify the reason, only to bump into something (or two things really) hard. Clutching the top of her head, she heard two different voices wince in pain. Turning her head side to side, she saw the twin red-heads hold their jaws in pain. _Weren't they just sitting over there?_ She mildly thought in confusion, as she eyed the two in suspicion. What were they doing sitting beside her, when they already had seats elsewhere?

"Name's Forge." One of them said, as the pain subsided. "Gred." The other one said. Since they already knew her name, they didn't need her to introduce herself. "We couldn't help but-" "-look at your lonely self so-" "-we decided to-" "-join you." They respectively said.

Hermione frowned as she released her head to clutch at her journal and pencil. Placing it inside her satchel, she stood up and left for the doors – not being the first one to leave (thankfully). As she dove into the crowds of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, she quickly used the passages to get to the tower before them – having heard them call out to her in alarm.

Calling out the password, she bound up the stairs and headed for the room with her name on it, and climbed onto the bed that was still pristine. Her tears seeped onto the blankets as she closed the curtains around her bed. She wasn't sure what the twin red-heads were up to, but her inner alarm rang heavily when they spoke up, and she didn't want to be made fun of any more than she already was. Her stomach growled in hunger and she recalled how she had left her food untouched. Sighing as her tears subsided, she pulled the sheets over her head and tried going to sleep. Her small form shuddered to think about what would have happened had she stayed. She might have been made fun of, or worse, humiliated in front of everyone.

Hermione swore to avoid anyone with red hair, except for the red-headed prefect. He was fine in her books, and if he didn't make fun of her, she might just consider him one of the few she'd like to be friends with.


End file.
